I have to admit that with all the tragedy that was being reported all over TV, I felt a little guilty taking time away from it to watch B&B. But for 30 minutes I tried to enjoy a little over the top, unrealistic, and downright 'YOU GOTTA BE KIDDIN' ME' moments and boy, weren't there a lot of those! Soaps are little television escapes that serve to entertain us and make us wish could live vicariously through the characters we watch onscreen...but you couldn't pay me enough to be ANY of B&B's folks lately! They are all CRAZY!
Crazy...like Ridge disposing of a body when he clearly could have made the case for self-defense with the cops. How are we supposed to believe Ridge has become THAT stupid overnight? I know he has become a colossal bonehead and rage-filled idiot over the last few years but dragging a body around and dumping it overboard? Are you kiddin' me?? Please. This story had 'DUH' written all over it right from the beginning which brings me to....
Crazy...like the quote from Brad that the character set to kick in April would be a 'central' or core character, thereby making all of us viewers hope it would be Ridge (well, maybe it was just me who was wishing that one!).Shane was never a central or beloved character. He was a shadowy figure in the Darla tragedy and a pain in Phoebe's butt for about, what...A MINUTE? Give me a break. He did do a good job as a gun-toting psycho, though.
Crazier still...Nick referring to him and Taylor 'losing their child' earlier this week? Did anyone else catch that? What? Just because the stick didn't turn blue doesn't mean there was ever a child to lose in the first place? Have the writers been smoking something? Ok, so what? They keep trying...big deal. This whole 'I gotta give Nick a baby' thing is nutty as well. Where's the fire, huh? Is Taylor's uterus going to turn into a pumpkin at midnight? I have a feeling this has less to do with the bliss of sharing a child and more to do with keeping Brooke away. Now that's pathetic.
Crazy as a fox...that Brooke! Now she is resorting to using as many ways to manipulate Nick as possible. She has used her sexuality, her kids, and now even the 'Taylor isn't pregnant YET' ploy. Curiously enough, though, none of it is working on Nick...yet. I may like Taylor and Nick together and feel down deep that they are a strong couple for this show but even I have to face the facts that whenever Brooke schemes enough, she'll get her Mr. Right Now. That's Nick...until she decides to go back to Ridge AGAIN. The only trick left is the old 'reverse Psychology' trick. Pull back, wish them well, and hope that the 'new you' will impress the guy enough that he has a change of heart. Yuck. I may need a barf bag if we go there next.
Crazy memories...with Rick and Ashley's Paris romp in the sack, huh? I guess they must have felt more for each other than the writers let on when she hit town. Love the flashbacks, though...SMOKIN'! I'm willing to bet that Ridge won't like the fact that they hooked up as anything having to do with Rick these days makes him a little nuts. And for the record...the kiss between Ashley and Ridge left me a little flat. I was hoping for something hotter but it was a little like watching paint dry.
Ok, so the hate emails are in full swing and I once again feel compelled to remind those that send me their thoughts to keep it clean. I respect others opinions and I deserve the same. I can enjoy whatever couple I like and while I seem to be constantly hammered about how 'unfair' I am all the time, let me say this...just because I don't like Brooke and like Taylor, that doesn't make me tragically unfair. I have tried many times to give her the benefit of the doubt (hello...read all those columns again where I said I loved her with Nick). It's called an opinion, period. I don't have to be fair...I have to be entertaining and warped and that's it. I have to stir the pot, call people out (like the out-to-lunch writers) and give you a chuckle here and there. The Taylor-haters are the worst, though...if I say anything nice about her I get a voodoo curse or worse. The Boards, while everyone claims they are nicer than their counterparts, are rife with venom for the other side but it's cool...they exist to for those that share their views and you don't have to read them. That's a big reason why I have not become a poster on any boards. I have that opportunity here every week. Let's remember one thing, people...this is a soap. It's make believe. It's isn't real. It's here to entertain us and nothing else. I have watched soaps all of my life and have never let it drag my personal behaviour down. I give my thoughts each week, I give everyone a chance to give me theirs and I call it a week. That's all. But I don't name-call (and I have had some real doozies lobbed at me!) and I respect others opinions. If not, I take my toys and go home. So there! Hehehehehehe.........
Besides, I have come to the realization that if I wrote a 100 times that I loved Brooke Logan and hated Taylor Hayes, it still wouldn't be enough. After all, isn't what this whole 'thing' with the fans of both camps is all about? Taylor vs. Brooke. This has been going on for as long as I can remember. Both women have passed around the same men that they actually should be great friends at this point! They have Thorne, Ridge, Eric (sort of with Taylor) and now Nick as their collective conquests and they may have been more if Taylor didn't die those couple of times. Maybe she would have had a tumble with Deacon if she hadn't been hangin' in the desert with Prince Omar.
And thank you to those that have emailed to tell me I am indeed wrong and that there are a few Taylor/Nick boards out there. I'll be sure to check them out!
A thought...I wondered for a moment why B&B did not air a new episode on Wednesday and instead chose to show the 5000th episode instead. But then it occurred to me that maybe it might have had something to do with the tragedy at Va. Tech on Monday. The particularly gruesome nature of the deaths and the constant media attention of it may not have made the gun-toting Shane's standoff with Ridge very easy to watch for some viewers. I have no confirmation that my theory is right but if it is, that was the right move for B&B. I am not too proud to admit it was hard for me when it did finally air Thursday and Friday. All I could see was the image of the killer holding the gun in the pictures he sent NBC. But I quietly reminded myself that this is just a soap.
Ok, now this week's question....do you think the original four core characters have outlived their usefulness? Is it time for Stephanie, Eric, Ridge, and Brooke to step aside for some new blood or are they so critical to the show's success that it simply cannot survive without them?
The Soap Box
Michelle M. says: 'Okay so is it just me or has everyone forgotten about why Brooke left Nick? I mean so what she wanted more to do with the Foresters what's new? We all knew it and Nick knew it too, but the reality is Brooke didn't leave Nick just because she wanted Ridge it was because HE SLEPT WITH BRIDGET. I'm so sick of people making Nick out to be the victim of the oh so horrible Brooke. He slept with her daughter and within two days this little floozy was running around thinking she was with child.' True, very true. No argument there. It's all insane but Brooke's constant playing around with Ridge didn't help either. Both of them messed their marriage up.
Anita P. asks: 'Any word with B&B saying anything else about Sally Spectra?? I know of the tribute to Darlene Conley, but was wondering if the character of Sally would be ever addressed ?? Thanks, and Thanks for your ever so yummy column!' Thank you...and I have wondered the same thing. Brad should provide some closure for fans of Sally and do it right.
Linda writes: 'Brooke did sleep with James; she was engaged to him until Ridge decided he wanted Brooke back. I can't wait to see Brooke steal Nick from Taylor, even though I am a Brooke & Ridge fan.' Yikes...are you sure about James? I must be losing some memory or something because I don't remember that. Interesting slant from a fan of Brooke and Ridge, though!
Have a great week!!!
